The conscience of the Delhi High Court was shaken to the core after they heard Honey Singh and Badshah's Volume 1. On Thursday, the Delhi High Court asked for the removal of the controversial song from all digital platforms, calling it "obscene." Since there has been much controversy about who sang the song, the plea in the High Court claimed that it was Honey Singh, as he sang a few verses from it in one of his recent concerts.
On Thursday, the Court asked Badshah and Honey Singh, along with anyone else who claims the rights to the song or its remixes, to immediately take it down from all social media handles, music platforms, or any online location. This decision came after Hindu Shakti Dal's plea against the derogatory song and the deletion of videos and audios of the song from social platforms.
As per Live Law, Justice Purushaindra Kaurav claimed the lyrics of Mafia Mundeer's Volume 1 were "grossly vulgar, obscene, derogatory" towards women. He further claimed that any civil society would not allow such content to remain on digital platforms.
The court noted, "This is one of the rare cases where the conscience of the court is shocked to its absolute core. It is one of those unfortunate instances where the court finds that the song is grossly vulgar, patently obscene, and derogatory towards women, artistic values, and social norms. The lyrics are not merely disrespectful or offensive but are ex facie calculated to normalise the treatment of women as objects of ridicule and sexual gratification."
As per the Delhi High Court, Volume 1's lyrics are "dehumanising" towards women. The court further added that such content cannot remain on social media platforms, which are accessible to people of all age groups, under the disguise of "artistic expression and freedom of speech."
Delhi High Court then issued notices to both Honey Singh and Badshah, directing that the URLs of the song be completely blocked immediately. The High Court further asked the petitioner to give the list of all remixes to the Union Government, so that online platforms can be given notice to take them down.
The petitioner has been allowed to use publicly available forms provided by major platforms to report any URLs discovered later. If there is any confusion, the platforms can approach the Union of India for guidance. The court also permitted the petitioner to raise complaints directly with Google. The Union of India’s counsel assured that if any grievance is received from the petitioner, the concerned government authority will be directed to take appropriate action.
The next hearing is scheduled for May 7, 2026.
